The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 60 percent for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine is denied.,Service connection for headaches is denied. The Board concludes that the Veteran does not have and has never had a headache condition at any time during the pendency of the claim or recent to the filing of the claim.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for right hip, right knee, and left ankle conditions are remanded as the appropriate examiners did not address whether pain causes functional impairment.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for right hip, right knee, and left ankle conditions is remanded as the appropriate examiners did not address whether pain causes functional impairment.,The Veteran's claim for TDIU is remanded.
The deciding factor: The evidence of record does not show ankylosis of the lumbar spine, which would be required to warrant a higher evaluation under applicable DCs.,The Veteran does not have and has never had a headache condition at any time during the pendency of the claim or recent to the filing of the claim. The competent medical evidence is against this claim.,The appropriate examiners did not address whether pain causes functional impairment, which is required for service connection as it must be established that the Veteran's current disability is caused by his active service.,The appropriate examiners did not address whether pain causes functional impairment, which is required for service connection as it must be established that the Veteran's current disability is caused by his active service.,The issues are inextricably intertwined and require further development to determine if the Veteran is unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Headache (claimed), Right hip condition, Right knee condition, Left ankle condition
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20070456
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the service connection claims for vertigo, dry eye syndrome, and various bilateral conditions due to insufficient evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied readjudication of the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, aphthous ulcers, a right elbow condition, an enlarged prostate, a right ankle disorder, and a left ankle disorder as no new and relevant evidence was received.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include alcohol use disorder, unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress, and PTSD was granted. Other claims for various conditions were denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to obtain and maintain substantially gainful employment, thus granting a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
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